In the past, South American nomads could be found from Cape Horn to the Orinoco River in northern South America. The most variable groups were found in the southern half of the continent, occupying a variety of habitats and exploiting differing resources. With the technology known to them, food production was low, the population sparse, the social organization simple. Constant movement within prescribed territories prevented the establishment of large permanent villages or the accumulation of material wealth.

In the south the Chono, Alacaluf, and Yámana Indians occupied the whole Chilean (Chile) archipelago southward to Cape Horn (Horn, Cape). This is a rugged terrain of islands and fjords with heavy rainfall, an average winter temperature of 32° F (0° C), and an average summer temperature of 50° F (10° C). The dense forests make land travel extremely difficult and horticulture impracticable. The area is poor in game, fish, and edible plants. The archipelagic tribes thus depended on shellfish and seals or whales that had been stranded on the beaches. Travel was almost entirely by canoe.

The large area of the steppes and plains extends from Tierra del Fuego, in the south, through Patagonia, to the Pampas (Pampas, the) of central and northern Argentina and western Uruguay. The Ona occupied the islands of Tierra del Fuego. The brush-covered, semi-arid Patagonian plateau was the home of the Tehuelche, while the Puelche and Querandí inhabited the flat grassy Pampas. The Charrúa lived in the grasslands north of the Río de la Plata. The prehistoric inhabitants of this region practiced no agriculture and had no domesticated animals, with the possible exception of the dog. Throughout the region the tribal groups depended on hunting guanaco, rhea (the South American ostrich), and smaller animals and on gathering some roots and herbs. The population was one of the sparsest in South America.

The Gran Chaco extends northward from the grasslands of the Pampas to Paraguay and Mato Grosso (Mato Grosso Plateau) do Sul in Brazil. It is an arid region covered with drought-resisting vegetation. The area is drained by the Paraguay River and its western tributaries, such as the Pilcomayo, Bermejo, and Salado rivers, that originate in the Andean foothills. During the summer months the Chaco experiences the highest temperatures in South America.

The people of the Gran Chaco subsisted largely on plants, which those who had access to the rivers supplemented with fish at certain times of the year. The plant foods were supplied by such pod-bearing thorny bushes as the algarrobo and by many local trees. Some wild rice was also available. Honey and larvae also were eaten. In the southeastern part, guanaco and rhea were hunted. On the whole, however, the people depended primarily on plant foods, in contrast to the nomads to the south, who were essentially hunters.

The prehistoric nomadic peoples of the Chaco travelled on foot or, in some cases, in canoes. The horse was introduced into the Chaco after the Spanish conquest, and its adoption by some tribes had far-reaching consequences in the area. It is convenient to separate the Chaco tribes of historic times into foot Indians and horsemen. Among the foot Indians were such groupings as the Zamuco, of the northeast, and the Wichí, of the central Chaco. Each such grouping consisted of a number of tribes. The mounted bands, who spoke Guaycuruan (Guaycuruan languages), consisted of such groups as the Abipón, Mocoví, and Caduveo (Mbayá, or Guaycurú).

North of the Chaco the country merges gradually into the tropical forest zone, particularly in the western section of Bolivia. In Brazil the forest zone consists of columns of forests on both banks of the major rivers. There are also island forests—large patches of forest standing on a plain or plateau, evidently supplied by springs that flow the year round. Typical nomadic tribes in this area were the Sirionó of eastern Bolivia and the Nambikwara ( Nambicuara) of Mato Grosso, Brazil, and the Guayakí (Aché) of eastern Paraguay.

In the marshes of the upper Paraguay River in Brazil, the Guató Indians lived most of their lives in canoes, fishing and hunting cayman and other aquatic animals. They built temporary shelters on small islands that stood slightly above flood level. There are also other aquatic nomads in northern South America and in the Caribbean.

Because they were nomads, the hunters and gatherers had very little in the way of such material goods as weapons, textiles, clothing, and ornaments. Their technical processes were very simple and appear to have been invented long ago.

Shelter was provided by caves if available. In the colder climate of the south, the archipelagic tribes of Chile and the nomads of the Chaco made domed huts of bent poles covered with bark, skins, or brush. When the people moved on they left the frame for others to use, taking only the skin coverings with them. The Patagonians made a skin-covered hut known as the toldo. The Yámana used a conical tepee-like shelter or a double lean-to. The Nambikwara used a lean-to in the dry season or camped under trees, sleeping on fire-warmed ground. During the rainy season a larger double lean-to was used. There were no permanent settlements, although people sometimes gathered together to perform ceremonies and to feast when food was plentiful.

The forest hunters, such as the Sirionó and Nambikwara, wore no clothing (dress). The southern nomads wore skin robes and crude moccasins. There was no sewn clothing. Earplugs, nose plugs, and lip plugs were widely used, except by the archipelagic people. Featherwork, armbands and leg bands, necklaces, and body painting were common in many areas. Some of these ornaments were used to distinguish bands or lineages and other groupings, but they were not used as status symbols.

Finger weaving of yarn spun from native cotton and palm frond fibres was practiced in the Chaco and among the Sirionó and Guató. The heddle loom, a later development, was known among the Sirionó, Nambikwara, and Chono. Long strips of fabric were woven for making armbands and leg bands and other decorations. Netting was used for making fishnets and bags for the transportation of goods, particularly in the Chaco.

Pottery was known to some of the nomads but was little used because pots were difficult to transport. Coiled basketry was widely used. In the Chaco, twilled baskets made from palm fronds were used at campsites and abandoned when the people moved on. The Patagonian and Pampean hunters used containers made of skins.

Two methods of making fire were widespread. The first involved a spark with flint on iron pyrite. A later technique involved twirling a hardwood pointed stick in a socket in softer wood: dried pith was then placed around the drill and the pith ignited by gentle blowing on the spark. Meat and fish were cooked by being placed directly on coals or put into earth ovens, lined with heated stones and covered with earth and coals. The Chono boiled food by placing heated stones in tightly woven baskets. The hunters and fishers used no salt, but the Chaco tribes, who depended primarily on plants for food, traded for salt with the highland people. Some of the forest nomads used ashes in place of salt.

Bows and arrows were used by all the nomads. Among the Patagonian and Pampean hunters (hunting), however, there is archaeological evidence to suggest that the bow and arrow was preceded by the bola. Before the introduction of the horse, guanaco and rhea were hunted by stalking, the hunter throwing the bolas around the neck or legs of the game. Bolas were made by attaching stone weights to two or three short cords that, in turn, were fastened to a longer lasso. With the coming of the horse after the Spanish conquest, the bolas became very important, for from horseback they could be easily swung to ensnare guanaco, rhea, wild cattle, and other large game. Among the Patagonians, Pampeans, and inhabitants of parts of the Chaco, it became the principal hunting device. Spears and the atlatl (spear-thrower), or spear thrower, were used to some extent.

Among the forest nomads, such as the Sirionó and Nambikwara, the principal weapon for hunting and fishing was the longbow, which was six feet in length. The barbed arrows were from five to eight feet long. Because they had no canoes, both shot fish from the banks of a stream.

Among the archipelagic tribes of southern Chile it was predominantly the women who gathered shellfish on the beaches at low tide and who, from bark canoes, dived with a shell blade and a basket held in their teeth. The shellfish gatherers were careful not to exhaust the supply in one area. These people also always carried a fire on a clay platform in their canoes, both for warmth and for roasting shellfish over the coals. The men hunted roosting cormorants, penguins, steamer ducks, petrels, and other marine birds at night with torches and killed them with clubs. Ducks and geese were lured by decoys, then captured with pole snares.

Seals and sea lions were harpooned in the water or clubbed on shore. Porpoises and sick whales were harpooned. Whale hunting was a cooperative enterprise involving many men, who risked their lives in flimsy bark canoes. Fish were sometimes found in shallows or in pools at low tide and, with the help of dogs, were driven into nets. Because the Indians had no knowledge of food preservation, they had to be constantly on the move to provide for their food supply.

The typical organization among nomadic hunters, gatherers, and fishers was the band, which, depending on the resources, could be large or very small. Low productivity and the lack of developed transportation prevented the accumulation of a surplus to maintain permanent communities. There were no social or occupational (labour, division of) specialists; every family produced its own equipment. Despite these general similarities there was wide diversity in social structure depending on the methods of obtaining food.

The Chono, Alacaluf, and Yámana of the Chilean archipelago were dispersed in elementary family units of father, mother, and children with perhaps an elder or two. These small family bands, if they can be so called, moved from one beach to another. There were no permanent territorial claims to shellfish beds, although individual families repelled others while they were using a particular shellfish bed. Sometimes close relatives or friends would move together briefly, and at times a number of families would gather together to feast on a stranded whale or join in hunting seals or sea lions. The family was also the economic unit among the Guató and, during the dry season, among the Nambikwara. This, of course, does not mean that the people did not visit relatives when circumstances permitted or when certain religious and ceremonial activities demanded.

The hunting of guanaco and rhea among the eastern Yámana and Ona and among the Patagonian and Pampean tribes was more productive when carried out cooperatively by a number of families banded together. Such bands consisted of 40 to 100 persons and had defined hunting territories, which the men defended against trespass. Chieftainship (chief) does not appear to have been hereditary but was ceded to a leader able in settling both internal disputes and conflicts between bands.

With the introduction of horses and cattle, a great change took place in the band organization. Horses permitted greater mobility, new techniques of hunting, and much larger bands. The former foot hunters joined into bands ranging from 500 to 1,000 persons. They roamed over ill-defined areas hunting wild cattle and raiding Spanish settlements and other Indians without horses. Each of these bands consisted of a number of lineages under a leader of proven ability; a strong leader might attract a huge following, including members drawn away from other bands. Warfare between bands increased because of uncertainties over rights to territory.

The southern hunters of Patagonia and the Pampas were patrilineal (descent was reckoned in the male line) and patrilocal (a wife resided with her husband's lineage and band).

Forest nomads, such as the Guayakí and Sirionó, on the other hand, were matrilineal and matrilocal—that is, an individual traced his ancestry through his mother's lineage, and a man went to live with his wife's band. Matrilineal descent and matrilocal residence were associated with the importance of women gathering food.

Although little is known about the social structure of the Chaco tribes in aboriginal times, there appears to have been a contrast between the peoples of the dry western area and the wetter eastern area. Because the people in the west depended on water holes, they were forced to shift camp frequently as holes dried up. The groups nevertheless seem to have claimed territorial rights to gathering, fishing, and hunting areas. With the arrival of the Spaniards and an increase in warfare, the authority of the chiefs was strengthened, although chieftainship was rarely hereditary. In the eastern Chaco, on the other hand, the presence of fish runs in the larger rivers and the practice of fairly productive cultivation permitted the settlements to be larger and less mobile. After acquiring the horse from the Spanish, however, the Caduveo (Mbayá) and other Guaycuruan-speaking peoples gave up what little horticulture they practiced and became predatory nomads raiding Spanish settlements, taking cattle, and capturing slaves from more sedentary tribes. Other Chaco tribes, such as the Abipón, Mocoví, Toba, and Lengua, also became horsemen and raiders. These tribes continued to move their camps in search of pasture for their herds of horses and cattle. Incipient class differences based on war honours and wealth appeared.

The Caduveo were outstanding raiders in the Chaco. Although roaming over great areas, the warrior bands always returned to their base settlements, where they had permanent houses and kept their slaves and livestock. The Caduveo also exhibited the clearest form of social stratification, which, although pre-Spanish, crystallized with the coming of the horse and the intensification of warfare. Caduveo society became stratified into nobles, warriors, serfs, and slaves. The nobles (aristocracy) were divided into those who inherited their titles and those upon whom titles were bestowed for lifetime only. The warrior class was basically hereditary, but other men demonstrating greatness in war could become members, thereby establishing new hereditary lines. The serfs (serfdom), who served only the members of the noble class, were from subjugated peoples. The lower class was made up of captured and purchased slaves (slavery), who included not only Indians from neighbouring tribes but also mestizos from the Spanish settlements. Slaves could gain their freedom by marrying into the warrior class.

Marriage among the shellfish gatherers of the Chilean archipelago, on the other hand, was a stronger institution. Marital fidelity was demanded. The family formed a strong autonomous unit that performed nearly all cultural activities on its own and cooperated with other families only briefly during sea hunts and initiation ceremonies. Marriage between known relatives was forbidden, but in practice this meant merely that first cousins and closer kin could not marry. A widow, however, could marry the brother of her deceased husband; and a widower could marry the sister of his deceased wife; these practices of levirate and sororate helped to maintain family alliances, when almost everything else tended to draw families apart.

The larger nomadic bands in South America practiced band exogamy; (exogamy) that is, a person in one band could marry only someone in another band. These marriages were not made at random, however, for (as among the Nambikwara) cross-cousin marriage was preferred; in a matrilineal society a man married his mother's brother's daughter; in a patrilineal society he married his father's sister's daughter.

Birth ceremonies were simple family affairs. After the birth, both parents fasted for a few days and observed food taboos. couvade was practiced; that is, the father stayed in the hut several days, mimicking labour, while relatives and friends provided essential needs.

Among the Sirionó a child was born openly in the communal house; and after birth the parents walked in the forest scattering ashes as a purification rite and then lit a new fire that signified new life.

Before the age of puberty, boys and girls learned by imitating older children and adults. Among the shellfish gatherers, children by the age of four began to gather shellfish and spear sea urchins close to shore, returning to camp to roast them and eat them. From an early age children thus took care of their food needs as far as shellfish were concerned. Boys and girls were separated after the age of seven. The boys played with bows and arrows. The girls learned to swim and dive. Males did not learn to swim or dive, since diving for shellfish was considered women's work. Corporal punishment was rare, but children were lectured by elders on manners and morals.

Socialization was formalized especially in the initiation rite, which marked the passage from youth to adulthood for both sexes. There was usually no fixed date, the time depending upon the number of neophytes and the opportunity to amass a supply of food for the feast.

The initiation ceremonies began with the men preparing sealing clubs and shellfish poles in a special hut in which they painted their faces and participated in singing, dancing, and mummery. The men then went out to hunt seals on the coastal rookeries, and the women went for shellfish. The men then built a large hut, where they sang, danced, and instructed the young men in proper vocational and moral behaviour. Later, women joined in the ceremony instructing girls in the proper behaviour for women. Then followed a mock battle between the sexes. After a feast, the assembly disbanded.

Among the Patagonian and Pampean tribes, a special hut known as the pretty house was erected for initiation ceremonies (as well as for some other rites, such as first menses). Medicine men bled themselves and smeared the novices with blood. There was dancing by the men and singing by the women. Horses were killed and roasted, and horsemeat was passed out to the guests.

In the Chaco there was considerable variation in the details of the initiation rites, but the underlying purpose of education and socialization was the same as among the shellfish gatherers and the Patagonian and Pampean guanaco hunters. Boys went through several rites, and when blood was drawn from their genitals they were considered mature warriors. On the Bermejo and Pilcomayo rivers, girls' puberty rites were attended with singing and dancing designed to protect the girls from evil spirits. A girl was kept in isolation and observed a special diet. After the rites pubescent girls were allowed sexual liberty and often took the initiative in love affairs.

Among none of the nomadic peoples did marriages involve any special ceremonies; gifts, though, were exchanged between the bride's and the groom's parents. Death rites (death rite) were more complex. Mourners painted their faces black, beat on the outside of the dead person's hut, fasted, and lamented. They also directed their anger at the supreme deity. In the Chilean archipelago, the dead person and his effects were either buried or cremated. Among the Patagonian and Pampean tribes, the corpse was left on a hilltop or placed in a cave; some belongings were placed near the body.

Among the Yámana shellfish gatherers there was a belief in a supreme being who was not a creator but a ruler. He was one who gave life and who gave humans animal and plant foods. People prayed to this being for success in fishing and hunting. Among the Patagonian and Pampean tribes there was a belief in a supreme being who, after creating the world, did not enter further into human affairs. There was a belief in good and evil bush spirits.

The Chaco groups did not believe in a supreme being. Although celestial bodies sometimes were thought to affect human beings, these bodies themselves were not objects of worship. The Chaco people had great fear of the ghosts (ghost) of the dead and disposed of the corpse as quickly as possible. The body was buried in a cemetery, and food offerings were made. The house and property of the deceased were burned.

Among such forest nomads as the Sirionó and Nambikwara, rituals and ceremonies were much less developed than in the Chaco. This no doubt was due to the incessant search for food and the inability to accumulate surpluses for large-scale feasts. Although the Sirionó did not believe in a supreme being, they did consider the Moon to be a culture hero who gave them maize and manioc and other features of their culture. They also feared the ghosts of the dead and bush spirits.

Shamans (shamanism), who acted as healers, priests, and psychopomps and were thought to receive their curative powers through the ghosts of dead shamans and special guardian spirits, were important among all tribal groups. Among the Chaco groups, shamanism was very highly developed, both for curing illnesses (medicine, history of) and in working for the general welfare of the tribe. Sickness was caused, it was thought, by one of two means: mysterious foreign objects would magically penetrate the body, causing disease, or a person's soul would leave the body, leaving him ill. In the former instance, the shaman would suck (sucking) out the foreign object; in the latter, he would go out at night and bring the wandering soul back.

The existing nomadic hunters and gatherers are marginal survivors who retain many archaic culture traits and share very few of the more recent inventions. In areas where they have not had contact with European culture or where they have withdrawn into refuge areas, they have maintained much of their original culture. In areas of contact, some have become rudimentary agriculturalists, building permanent houses, making pottery, and weaving. In the late 20th century, the conversion of the nomadic habitat into large-scale agricultural projects seemed to be bringing many of these tribal peoples to the verge of extinction.